The Tour Guide
by arcticjordan
Summary: Axel had just woken up after being in a coma for 15 years. His life was screwed up enough as it was – the last thing he needed was some kid's help. Akuroku.
1. Awake

**'The Tour Guide'**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything about KH. But I do own my own imagination involving the characters :) **

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><p><strong>1: Awake<br>**_  
><em>Sometimes it became ... difficult to remember certain things. Small details, seemingly unimportant things fell between the cracks only to resurface at a later time. All he could really do at this point was simply float between memories, and was quite surprised, considering his current state, that he was able to remember anything at all.

He knew his name was Axel. He was sure about at least that much.

He could also vaguely recall who he was as a person; over-confident (if a little arrogant), charismatic, a massive flirt, having a way with words – which compulsive lying naturally went hand in hand with, and being quite vain and shallow. Honestly, how else could you possibly be?

Then there were the people he knew – who were the most important to him. Reno was of course the first that sprung to mind, being Axel's older brother. He knew they never really spent any time together. Axel had distanced himself so far from Reno in the years prior to him disappearing into this bubble he was trapped in. Reno was just too dull and boring for his tastes – too much a different person. His friends were a different story; they were each as loud and bright as Axel himself, even if a little rough around the edges. Demyx, Larxene and Zexion ... he wondered what they were doing now?

Then, at the bottom of the list was Cloud. By 'bottom of' Axel didn't mean he hated Cloud, he just meant that, out of the people closest to him, Cloud was definitely the least important. He only really ever saw him because he was Reno's best friend. As a person, again, Axel felt Cloud far too different from himself to ever feel the need to get along. He was so morbid. Then he went off, had a kid and became a guy trying to be a good father and not having any idea what he was doing. That's probably why he'd asked Reno to be godfather in the first place – he'd wanted some positive reinforcement and at least one solid male role model for his kid if things went astray.

Back at the beginning of this frustratingly never-ending sleep Axel heard voices but couldn't process them and understand what was being said. There were frantic sounds and images of blurred faces while he kept falling into the dark. He drifted in and out of consciousness for days, maybe weeks, unable to tell what was going on – if he was dreaming.

One moment he was with his friends, gambling as they often did and deceiving their opponents as they cheated, robbed them blind, and made a run for it. Next thing they'd been figured out, Axel singled out and attacked, and his body shifted onto a bed while blurred blue and red lights spun and a siren shrieked. Too Axel it sounded too soft, almost muted. Something was wrong.

After some effort he'd remembered his first and last name, other basic things like his birthday, age, friends, personality and how he'd gotten wherever he was.

Then Axel felt something he hadn't in a long while: consciousness. It was a struggle, but he opened his gummy eyes and was in hospital bed. How long he'd been there he had no idea, but the second he tried to talk a nurse walking by there was a large commotion. That was good enough an answer then – clearly he'd been here for a _long_ time.

"He's awake. We need to call Reno in."

* * *

><p>It took a mere 20 minutes from the moment the nurse called, for Reno to crash into Axel's hospital room. He took one look at his conscious brother and all but flung himself at him.<p>

"My god, Axel! I can't believe ... you ... awake ..."

Axel wasn't sure if Reno was simply too emotional to form coherent sentences or if his hearing was still a bit off with registering noise, like listening through a filter. Either way, he could still figure Reno was pretty ecstatic to see him.

"Long time no see, Reno." Axel croaked out, his vocal chords feeling rough and neglected.

It took a while, but after the one-sided emotional reunion (on Reno's end, obviously) the conversation turned to updating Axel on what was new in his brother's life. The main thing Axel had to comment on was how _conservative_ Reno looked now. His hair had been cut short, and he looked very sharp in an expensive suit and tie. Evidently he had landed himself a corporate job which required him to do very little for a large pay cheque.

"... So if that's the case, why aren't you pulling in the ladies with your money?"

First Reno looked surprised, then insulted, and then ashamed. He'd never exactly been a hotshot with the girls as far as Axel could recall. He wasn't mean or condescending – he was just a bit too eager. A lot of women seemed to think that was a huge turn off.

"Man, it's been fifteen years. You gotta stop giving off those creepy vibes."

Swiftly changing the topic so as to lessen his embarrassment, Reno then thanked Axel for falling into a coma.

Axel blinked, then flatly replied, "Well, that's a heart-warming welcome back I suppose."

"No, no, no, don't get me wrong," Reno waved his hands around in front of his face, "It was a horrible thing to happen and I would never hope for it to occur ... I mean, I know we were never exactly close but I was never your 'perfect' brother either. Neither of us were particularly good people. So when I found out you'd fallen into a coma from a fight I freaked out and got my shit together. My moderately better behaviour landed me the job I have now and the life I have now. So, you know ... you may not have intentionally helped me out but – thanks anyway."

"Glad to see _somebody_ at least benefited from my fifteen years of nothingness." Axel grumbled.

When Axel proceeded to ask about his friends Reno reluctantly filled him in on their current lives. Zexion had gone back to school and now had a masters degree in literature, Demyx had moved away and Larxene seemed to have started a family and mellowed out compared to her bitchy, feisty prior self. That's when it hit Axel how much things had changed around him.

The instant that followed Axel couldn't help but feel like a loner when he realised he didn't currently have any friends. That thought alone was severely depressing.

* * *

><p>Only a week later found Axel standing outside the hospital, squinting up at the sun as he and Reno waited for their taxi to arrive. As much as Axel had improved in health, his doctor remained unsure about his mental stability and so informed him that it would be best to live with his brother for a while.<p>

Axel couldn't help but realise that when the two of them had been exiting, Reno had received as many, if not more, goodbyes as Axel. Seeing as Axel was the patient, this hardly made sense to him. When he irritably pointed this out to Reno he was told that his brother had so constantly visited the hospital while he was there that he'd become known as a regular by the staff. An awful feeling of guilt settled in Axel's stomach due to his lack of appreciation for his brother and proceeded to keep his mouth shut and stop complaining.

Life at Reno's was hard to adjust to. It was strange having Reno disappear for hours on end because he had an actual _job_ but it was harder still to become accommodated to the incredible flashy and well furnished upper class apartment Reno now lived in.

So, yes, the setting itself was definitely an obstacle. However, an even larger hurdle was the appliances. Axel had never exactly been technologically gifted to begin with, so to come back to Reno's and see all these identical looking instruments that apparently had individual purposes was pretty confusing. It was frightening, really, how quickly phones had shrunk and TVs had grown.

Reno had even come home one night, walked into the kitchen and stopped short when he saw Axel eating some burnt toast.

"You're eating toast?" he asked.

"Mmyeah. S'what?" Axel spat out eloquently, around a mouthful of food.

"For dinner you're having toast?" Reno reiterated.

"Shut the fuck up." Axel grumbled swallowing a mouthful of his meal, "The toaster's the only appliance I recognise and know how to use in your bloody kitchen. Don't give me shit about it."

"What about the espresso machine?" Reno pointed to the metallic object sitting dejectedly on the opposite side of the counter, "From what I can recall, you used to live off caffeinated drinks."

Axel's eyes widened, and he wandered over to the coffee maker, observing it closely, his nose an inch from its shiny surface, "That's a coffee machine?" he spluttered in awe.

Reno sighed, "How on earth am I supposed to keep you up to date?"

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><p>A few nights later Axel was about to take the time out of his <em>busy<em> schedule to have a lovely bubble bath when the doorbell rung and he took a small detour in order to open the front door.

It would've been hard to pick who looked more surprised – Axel, or Cloud, who stood on the doorstep.

"I – wow." Cloud looked slightly shaken by Axel's presence, which was quite understandable – since he hadn't seen him conscious in over a decade, "This is really ... surreal. Hi Axel."

"Hey Cloud." Axel responded shortly. Yes, it had been fifteen years – but as stated previously, Axel didn't really care much about Cloud. He'd much prefer to cut the 'hey how have you and your son been while I've been lying in a bed' small talk and go have his bubble bath.

Thankfully, Cloud didn't seem to want to talk much either, "Reno called. Said he wanted to talk?" Cloud always seemed to make questions where there should have been statements.

Axel jabbed his thumb over his shoulder towards the lounge room, where Reno was probably watching TV. After Cloud walked passed, he slammed the front door and went to the bathroom, switching his brain off for the next hour.

Cloud and Reno's brains however, remained very much alert.

"So how is he?" Cloud started off with.

"I dunno, really." Reno wiped a hand over his face, "He won't talk to me. All he seems to do these days is mope around, eat, sleep and bathe."

"You could say the same for a cat."

"He used to be so – lively. Now he's become this recluse that doesn't realise that's he should be making the most of being alive and being able to go out and do things, meet people, you know?"

"Can I just ask - how we should address him?"

"What?"

"I mean, he's been in a coma for fifteen years which would make him – what, around 40? So should we treat him like a –"

Reno, for the first time in a while, laughed, "Oh god, no. He's definitely still 25. I don't care about that date of birth stuff, he hasn't magically matured or aged since 1996 so I reckon we should still address him as a ... young adult or whatever you want to call it."

Cloud thought for a moment, "If that's the case, I have a suggestion for you."

"Let's hear it, then."

"You said you want to fill Axel in on the past fifteen years as well as get him out and socialising, right?"

"Right." Reno repeated, sounding unsure.

"Well, Roxas turned 20 just recently so the two aren't too far apart age wise. Maybe my son's young perspective would be suited to Axel for a while."

"So, what, Roxas would essentially be Axel's personal tour guide?" Reno said, "Are you sure Roxas would go for that?"

"He's my son, he doesn't have a choice." Cloud said confidently. "Besides, I'm sure that out of the goodness of his heart he'll want to help."

Once all of the details were arranged (without the knowledge of either Axel or Roxas), Cloud left and Reno waited until Axel re-emerged from the bathroom. When he told Axel he would be meeting up with Roxas later during the week, his brother's response was less than promising.

"Who?"

"Roxas. You know, Cloud's kid."

"Oh, you mean the little blonde runt?"

Reno bristled noticeably, his god-fatherly protective instincts surfacing, "He was never a runt, Axel. He was only ever slightly smaller than other kids his age."

"Scrawny too." Axel unhelpfully supplied.

"Axel," Reno scolded, "Roxas was never –"

"Doesn't matter anyway," Axel cut in, "I'm not going to go hang out with some snot-nosed little brat just because you told me to."

"Roxas is 20 years old now, Axel."

"Seriously?" Axel laughed, "Well, shit. Whad'ya know. I still stand by what I said, however."

Reno could predict what was going on in his brother's mind. Axel refused to be treated like a child. There was absolutely no way in hell that Axel would allow himself to be dragged around by somebody younger than him. He probably believed he was perfectly capable of looking after himself. His delusions were growing at a rapid rate.

The sooner he met up with Roxas, the better.

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><p><strong>AN: Hey guys!  
>It's been a while but here is something new. Up to you guys to decide: Scrap or Continue?<br>Hope you enjoy :D**


	2. Introduced

**'The Tour Guide'**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything about KH. But I do own my own imagination involving the characters :) **

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><p><strong>2: Introduced<br>**_  
><em>It seemed that the older Roxas got, the harder he was to contact. At least, that's how it appeared to Cloud anyway. The whole reclusive adolescent thing he had been expecting, but Roxas was now 20 and his social ineptitude was, if anything, getting worse. His son would simply disappear, fail to contact him for a few days (even though he had a cell phone) and magically resurface again during the early hours of the morning. What further worried Cloud was that a lot of the time Roxas would come home with an assortment of purchases even though he didn't have a job and Cloud didn't give him an allowance anymore. The question had to be asked, where _did _he get the money for it all?

For once though, Cloud was going to push his concerns aside – if only for the moment – so that he could instead convince Roxas to help out Axel. He knew that if he also interrogated him on his finances then Roxas would shut himself off and with that any chance of him meeting up with Axel would vanish.

Anyway, Roxas was difficult to get into contact with when he wasn't physically present. This detail meant that Cloud had to wait determinedly for his son to arrive home, even though it was, Cloud winced when he glanced at his watch, 3.47am. He had work in the morning too.

Just as he was about to forfeit and end his suffering and go to bed, to at least salvage what little sleep he could before work, the telltale thud of front door opening sounded, and moments later Roxas walked into the lounge room, tossing his keys on the coffee table. The slightly panicked expression Roxas wore when he noticed his father still awake would have almost been comical had Cloud not been severely tired.

"Why are you still up?" Roxas demanded. Cloud had long since given up on his son directing any small sign of affection his way. Even a low effort 'hi, dad how was your day' or 'good morning/night' had stopped being said to him a long time ago.

"I was waiting for you to get home." Roxas watched him warily, which was understandable since Cloud hadn't never really waited for him to get home before, "We need to have a little talk."

Roxas expertly rolled his eyes in an 'I'm too cool to care about this' kind of way. "Don't worry – I already know about all the birds and bees business. Good job on staying up to tell me though; that shows real dedication." He added insincerely.

"Relax, it's not the 'talk' talk. I think you're a little too old for that."

"Damn straight."

Cloud had been thinking for hours about how he should approach this. His son wasn't particularly generous with his time, let alone with people he didn't really know, such as Axel.

"I need to ask a favour..." He began.

"No." Roxas said shortly, spinning around and walking towards the stairs.

Cloud frowned, "You stay right there, mister!" he commanded, using his severe father voice.

It only just worked, as Roxas halted and turned around to stare at him uninterestedly.

"Reno's brother Axel has recently woken up from his coma!"

"Yeah..." Roxas said slowly, caring little for his godfather and even less for his godfather's brother, "So...?"

"So he's a bit of a stranger to the current world. We figured that he needs to get readjusted and settled to being 15 years into the future. It's a big jump, you understand?"

"Yeah..." Roxas repeated, only this time sounding like he had more of a basic idea of where this topic of conversation was heading.

"So Reno and I have agreed that, since your ages are now quite close, you would be a great aid to Axel. Showing him around, filling him in on current affairs ... that sort of thing.

"Uh, no." Roxas said flatly, "I'm not looking after a goddamn _vegetable_. There are nurses for that sort of thing."

Cloud watched as his son spun around again and began to walk away, "You only need to give him your young view on the world and what's going on. It'll make more sense to him coming from someone his age."  
><em><br>_Whilst Roxas tried to make a hasty retreat up the stairs, Cloud calmly said, "You're going to meet Axel tomorrow."

Snapping his head back around to glare at his father, Roxas grunted, "I'm sorry? I wasn't aware that you have monopoly over _my _day to day activities."

Ignoring his son's response, Cloud idly overtook him on the stairs, "Think of it as a caretaker job minus the pay."

"Great. Because if there's one thing I would _love _a job without – it's the money part."

Cloud smiled slightly, knowing that, as much as his son despised the idea of meeting up with Axel, it was too late for him to back out now. Once something was put in his mental calender, it was there written there permanently until something was done about it. Roxas's mind worked in funny ways.

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><p>The destination of the meet up was a ditch of a cafe that Axel used to hang out in regularly. Since 1996, the place had evidently changed, as Axel found out when he rocked up to an unfamiliar indie diner with a new owner. Axel didn't really mind it, but it was still unnerving that another chunk of evidence from his time had vanished and been replaced, as if it had never existed.<p>

When it came to Roxas, Axel didn't really know what to expect, having only remembered a little blonde kid who was too young to have any definite personality traits for him to make an estimation of what he'd be like now. Then again, Axel further deliberated; he hadn't really paid any attention to the kid when he'd had the opportunity (like when he'd stay the night because Cloud was on a business trips etc). He'd been busy gambling and stealing and generally just screwing people over. Maybe if he had paid attention, then he'd not be thinking so damn much now.

The Roxas kid was already late and as much as Axel tried to remain calm, his patience was wearing thin. His teetering emotions were then sent over the edge when a buzzing sensation shot up his entire left leg, scaring him to death. Giving a yelp, Axel then embarrassingly realised that it was the old cell phone that Reno had given him ringing. The description of 'old' didn't really apply to Axel here, since the stupid phone was so bloody modern and complicated that he didn't even know how to answer whoever was calling him. He fumbled around with the high-tech slide phone, having no clue what he was doing.

After he'd accidentally taken a photo of his crotch a young waitress took pity on him and wandered over to help.

"I hate these new smartphones." She said, comfortingly, "They're simply far too complicated. Makes me miss the good old standard cells."

Axel forced himself to laugh along. Evidently he wasn't the only guy who couldn't work this type of phone. The last time he'd even seen a mobile it was roughly the size of his head. Axel had never really seen the appeal but they appeared to be all the rage now.

The waitress clicked the little green button on the screen and passed the phone back to Axel, nodded her head with a smile and left.

Pressing the phone up against his ear, Axel uncertainly asked, "Hello?"

"Hey Axel, it's me," Cloud's voice echoed through the device, it was difficult to hear him, due to the excessive background noise. He must've been at work or something, "Listen, I know you've probably been waiting a while, but Roxas is running a little late. I called him and he'd only just left the house. He should be there soon so be patient."

Axel grudgingly mutters, "I'm old enough to not need an unofficial tour guide, Cloud."

"It's just to get you up to speed."

"He's _younger_ than me." Axel stressed, "How do none of you realise how damaging this is to my ego?"

"Sure, sure. I forgot you were so egocentric. Just wait for Roxas, I've gotta go."

After putting the phone back in his pocket, Axel's new-found attention made him perk up whenever he saw a blonde male walk past the front, or enter the coffee shop.

If he'd been asked to pick modern day Roxas out of a line up Axel would've simply scoffed at the suggestion and shook his head. At most he could scarcely recall Roxas's dark blue eyes and a canary yellow abundance perched atop his head.

"I'm taking it you're Axel, right?" a cold voice behind him said, "Seriously, you haven't changed a bit."

Axel spun around, to face a boy clad in jeans, a large brown coat and a black beanie.

"Are you Roxas?"

The boy sat, ripping off his beanie, which revealed his blonde locks which fell unevenly around his face. No wonder he hadn't noticed the blonde walk past, Axel noted, he hadn't known he was _blonde_.  
>Soaking in Roxas's adult appearance, Axel noted that Roxas's face still had a childlike quality to it, though the innocence in the boy seated in front of him had most definitely vanished. The boy had retained his flawless, pimple and fault free skin and his teeth were now straight, white and fully grown, as Axel vaguely remembered him only having baby teeth last time he saw him. The boy's hair had changed too. Though, admittedly, still hazardously messy, the majority of Roxas's blonde hair now sat determinedly to one side of his scalp, whereas it used to be all over the place.<p>

"Yeah." Roxas answered disinterestedly. And something about that bugged Axel.

The odd and reluctant pair sat there silently, sipping at their sodas. It was unbearable, to a loud-mouth like Axel, to have so little going on at his own table that he could hear the conversations of those around him.

The boy didn't really talk much, so, off all the people that could've been picked to get Axel up to date with the world, Roxas was definitely not the highest on Axel's list.

"Well," Axel yawned widely, "As much fun as it is sitting here in utter silence, I'd really rather chat or something."

"This is a waste of my time." Roxas suddenly muttered to himself, ignoring the man seated opposite him, "I planned on going out today, and then bloody Cloud pins me with the job or babysitting some thirty-something year old man. Dammit."

"One, I still contend that I'm 25 and definitely do not require a babysitter who seems too young to have such a title." Axel shot back coolly, before scratching his chin in thought, "And two, why the hell do you refer to your dad as Cloud?"

Roxas stared blankly at Axel, his cold blue eyes piercing into Axel's green, "Not that it's any of your business, but my old man and I have had so many fights that I've lost count. For that reason I've decided to just call him Cloud to make sure he knows we aren't related on good terms anymore."

Then another all-engulfing silence took over their table, and Axel ordered some food just so they had something to do to pass the time. It was almost a talent that Roxas hadn't even filled him in the slightest on the world – since that was what he was _meant_ to be doing. Maybe when Axel left the store he'd have lost brain cells from being in such close proximity to the stupid kid for such long period of time. That'd really show Reno and Cloud for their plotting.

While eating Axel eventually gave in and tried again to initiate conversation.

"So, what mischief do you get up to, Roxas?"

"Not much." The boy answered shortly, which Axel nearly scoffed at. From Cloud and Reno's carefully chosen words to describe Roxas, 'not much' mischief was highly unlikely.

This process repeated itself a few times – with Axel trying to politely stir up some conversation and Roxas awkwardly giving him nothing to work with and thwarting his social attempts with little to no effort. It wasn't until Axel decided to stop asking questions that Roxas responded with anything interesting.

Eventually, Axel just settled for, "You're a hard one to read. I like that."

"I can take a good guess at the other hard things you like." Roxas mumbled into his palm, not realising his voice carried over to the man across from him.

Axel choked on his pizza in surprise before snidely remarking, "Well, who could've guessed Roxas would grow up to be crude? Unexpected yet all the more delightful."

Roxas only stared blankly at him from across the cramped table. The boy had accidentally engaged in friendly conversation, and had closed himself off again in panic.

After that Axel was motivated to try and keep talking to Roxas, who kept shooting down his attempts, only further intriguing Axel. What could've happened to Roxas in the past 15 years that had caused him to become so miserable in comparison to his child self?

While mulling this thought over, Axel loudly and dramatically stated, "The Roxas that I know is long gone –"

"What? Because I can comprehensibly speak and have an actual _backbone_ now?" Roxas bit back.

Axel continued, regardless, " - Fine, I see how it is."

As much as the kid didn't talk, he was obviously just a whole sealed off box of interesting little tidbits and secrets waiting to be divulged. Axel made it his own personal mission to get to know him.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, the instant Axel opened the door Reno was in his face, pestering him about how his meeting with Roxas was. The man didn't have a single ounce of subtlety, which was painfully visible now.<p>

"How did it go? Did Roxas bring you up to date?"

"Nope." Axel dismissively answered, wandering straight passed towards the lounge room.

"So then... was it ok anyway? How was Roxas?"

"He's a bit messed up, but I'm ok with it." Axel pulled a face and regrouped, quickly adding, "Not that I care."

Which was true. He didn't care. The kid was annoying. Intriguing but annoying. He would only meet up with him in the future to further figure him out. That was the only reason, because (as stated previously multiple times) other than that he didn't care.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I PRESENT TO YOU CHAPTER 2!  
>It's only 2 months after the first post, so I'm sure the story is still fresh in your minds!<br>(Sarcastic statement is sarcastic)**


	3. Runt

**'The Tour Guide'**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything about KH. But I do own my own imagination involving the characters :) **

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><p><strong>3: Runt<strong>

By the following month Axel and Roxas were meeting each other at least once a week. And as much as Roxas tried to retain his cold, antisocial demeanour eventually he talked a bit more. Hanging around the same person was bound to get boring if you sat in silence all of the time. They never talked about anything personal though, that much was made clear when Roxas had given Axel that horrifyingly murderous look that one time he'd asked about Cloud.

Since anything pertaining to either one of them was off limits in terms of conversation topics, Roxas started doing what he'd been asked to all along – update Axel on what he'd missed in 15 years. This week, they were covering the 1990s in particular, since Axel had missed most of the decade falling into a coma in 1996. Though Roxas acted like a hormonal little bitch most of the time, Axel had to credit him for his talent of teaching. By the time they had finished their coffees Axel had learnt all about the joys of slap bracelets, boy bands and fashion's strange fascination with big shoes and excessive amounts of denim clothing.

After he'd finished summing up the decade, Axel was stunned for a few moments, trying to absorb all this new information. Then he responded to Roxas by exclaiming, "Well shit! I can't believe I missed the 90s! They sounded fucking awesome."

Roxas snorted and then muttered back, "Yeah, well at least you have a legitimate excuse – you were in a coma. I was just too young to properly take it all in."

"Yes. Woe is you, kid."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Axel rolled his eyes, "You only have fuzzy memories of being a kid – _like every other goddamn person on the planet. _I don't really think that's cause for complaint."

"I can complain about whatever I want to-"

"Oh just shut up, will you? Jesus, I was in a coma. I reckon I'll beat you pretty damn easily if we're going to have a 'whining about the injustices of the world contest'."

It took a few moments of silence for Axel to realise that that comment had finally shut Roxas up.

They toured the city for a while, so that Roxas could briefly show Axel around the newly developed areas. This idea seemed stupid for two reasons: firstly, the entirety of the city looked pretty damn new compared to the last time Axel had seen it and second, Roxas was too young to really have any idea what had been there in 1994 and what had changed since.

Regardless of the pointless outing, Axel and Roxas wandered around anyway. Axel should have known better, that continuously belittling Roxas was going to get him in trouble. But this was _Axel_ so he stupidly continued to prod the sleeping bear with a stick.

"So how long ago did you graduate preschool, kid?" The silence had stretched out too long and this way Axel at least guaranteed himself a reply, even if an incensed one.

That was the point that Roxas had had enough and snapped.

"Stop fucking calling me kid, ok?" Roxas growled, his voice dangerously low, "Refer to me as Roxas or nothing at all."

"What about Roxy? Or blondie? Or runt?" Axel couldn't resist – he really couldn't.

"You know what? Fuck you." And with that, Roxas marched off without a look over his shoulder.

Axel chuckled heartedly at that. Until he realised...

He didn't know how to get home.

_Well... fuck. _

Maybe he needed Roxas's help more than he realised.

* * *

><p>It wasn't even his embarrassing dependency on the kid that alarmed Axel.<p>

What really concerned him were the kinky thoughts he kept having. First impressions, he'd seen Roxas and thought – yeah, alright, average blonde kid. Nothing special. Could probably dress him in surf clothes and plop him into any stereotypical surf photo shoot. But then the kid had gone and talked which had sent everything to hell. Because he _wasn't_ just another boring, brooding guy – there was actually some substance to Roxas (although he rarely showed it). So above all else, it was his brutal personality that seemed to be pushing Axel's buttons.

It was getting worse too, the rapidity of this fixation. Every time Roxas said something cruel Axel would only think how good he'd be at talking dirty, and when his lips curled into smirks Axel just wanted to bite down on them and then – Damn it! He was doing it again. He had no self-control. This was ridiculous. What if Roxas was underage – these thought would only land him in way more trouble...

Hadn't Reno mentioned his age? Well, either way Axel didn't remember. The little whirlwind that was Roxas had been distracting him with his bitchy glares and stupid smirks rendering him unable to retain information like his age!

It was a recollection of Reno's voice that yelled in his head then, but for once Axel was happy to hear it as it came bearing good news. _"He's 20 years old, Axel." _He grinned at that, _"oh no you don't. Don't go anywhere near my godson." _Axel tuned the voice out.

So, Roxas was 20.

That was a relief.

* * *

><p>By the time that two months of their regular catch-ups had rolled around, the pair had established some sort of semi-comfortable routine and acquaintancefriendship-in-denial. Which would have been all fine and dandy had Axel not been constantly thinking about throwing Roxas onto whatever horizontal surface was closest and mounting him. Half of it he blamed on 15 years of pent up sexual frustration and the other half just plain curiosity of how Roxas would react.

And then this deliciously _perfect_ moment had presented itself and Axel had just grasped for it.

Axel had walked Roxas home and dropped him off at his door, as much as the boy had protested ("Seriously, Axel, stop following me and go _home_ already."). He just lead a boring lifestyle, and he didn't see Roxas enough to occupy all of his time so he figured he'd make the most of it when he could.

When they slowed down and eventually stopped at Roxas's front steps, Axel figured Roxas was going to give a curt nod and slam the door in his face. It seemed a very Roxas goodbye. That probably would have happened too – had it not been that Roxas remembered that Cloud had left him a spare key to give to Axel, since he was there fairly regularly. Before he went to get it from his room, he was very adamant that Axel remain on the doorstep and not come inside.

"Stay here." He stated, as if commanding a dog. When Axel simply rolled his eyes Roxas added, "I mean it. Inspect my front door, or something. I'm going to my room so do. Not. Come. In."

The instant he was out of sight Axel stepped over the threshold, because honestly, why would he ever do what Roxas wanted? It was just a bedroom. As if it mattered.

He already knew which room was Roxas's, by a simple process of elimination and it being the only room in the house he hadn't seen. So he made his way straight there and hovered outside a few moments, listening to Roxas stomp around, before peeking in.

It wasn't anything special, as far as rooms went. It was four walls, ceiling, floor and ridiculously small. An unmade bed took up the majority of the space, and what little unoccupied floor was left around it was covered in used clothes, rubbish and shoes. A few grim looking band posters and photos adorned the walls, in an artfully angled fashion, as if accidental (which obviously wasn't true). It reeked of adolescence and cliches. Very Roxas. Axel hated it on sight, but the fact that it was Roxas's room gave it a certain charm.

"I thought I told you to _stay_ outside." Roxas grunted over his shoulder, annoyed, "Idiot."

Axel couldn't be bothered replying to that so didn't. Instead he just stood there watching as Roxas clambered around the tiny space. It was really a talent that he had made it so difficult for himself to find a simple key in such a small area.

"Found it!" Roxas finally breathed, digging it out from where it had been buried and handing it to Axel.

"You know you could have just kept it in your pocket, right?"

Roxas ignored him and instead gave a dull, "Bye."

Of course, that was Axel's cue to leave since Roxas had so _politely_ asked him to do so. Instead he just remained there, looking at Roxas look at him. There was nothing to read in Roxas expression. But he'd let him see his room and was clearly opening up to Axel ... so ... just to test the waters ...

He'd only really intended on giving an innocent enough kiss goodbye on the cheek, but hadn't even gotten that far. That instant he'd leaned and taken a step forward, Roxas had countered him, backing away. Now Roxas just looked confused and was gave off the very clear vibe of 'what the hell are you doing?'

Axel left after that, figuring that reaction was as good an answer as any.

* * *

><p>Roxas met up with Hayner a few days later in the park. They rarely saw each other anymore and as much as Roxas wanted to really commit himself to listening to his friend go on and on about his part-time job, his mind was somewhere else. It was in his bedroom, thinking about him and Axel. And <em>wow<em> did that seem a hugely misleading situation to talk about. If he wanted to talk to somebody about it, he was going to have to avoid the whole bedroom setting. And the whole 'other dude' part. Hell, he'd just not mention himself either. Best to make it a random question, rather than a personal one.

He didn't even really know how to bring up Axel's kissing attempt. This was the first time he and Hayner had hung out in ages, and even back when they were best friends they hadn't been that open to discussions about relationships. That was just too girly for them.

So he did what any self-respecting male would do, he tried to make it hypothetical and unrelated to anything.

"Was it like a thing in the 80s? To kiss another guy goodbye or something?"

Hayner gave an incredulous snort around the rim of his soda can as he took a sip. "Not unless you mean a European or something who does the whole smooching on each cheek thing."

Roxas groaned in defeat, earning him a curious look from Hayner. So the hypothetical tactic hadn't given him an answer either.

"Listen," Roxas said, cradling his head in his hands, a habit he'd acquired from watching his father, "I know there are gay people out there, ok? I am well aware that they exist and I'm not some narrow-minded guy who's simply going to shun someone else because they displayed ... uh ... slightly affectionate actions towards me. But, honestly, how exactly am I supposed to face up to Axel again after that?"

Hayner yawned and leant backwards onto his hands; palms planted firmly into the grass, idly commenting, "Well, you could always grow some balls" earning a squawk of offense from his friend.

It seemed like Roxas would have to face this problem alone.

* * *

><p>By the time Axel got home, he'd been stewing in his own misery for such a long time that he didn't even bother giving a half-assed greeting to his brother. Reno simply watched as he collapsed, face-first, into the couch cushions.<p>

Reno, it should be noted, was never a good candidate for Axel to find solace in when he was younger. Clearly, some things never changed.

"To platonic friendships and how no matter how much you like someone things will never exceed buddy hood because of moral obligations." Axel sighed and buried his face into the couch's cushions miserably, as if attempting to smother himself, "What a drag."

"Wait, who's pants are you trying to get into?" Reno eagerly asked, trying to gain some slight vicarious sex life drama through his brother, seeing as the man himself was currently enduring the longest dry spell of all time.

Axel stared pointedly at him. Roxas was, as sad as it was to admit, Axel's only considered friend and person he hung out with currently. It shouldn't have been that difficult a task to draw a link. Or was it really that obscure an infatuation to guess? After all Axel had seen Roxas shortly after he was born and still coated in gross amniotic goo so it could logically be seen as pedophilia.

Axel groaned; Roxas's dry jokes and insults involving the redhead had been spot on then. Not good.

Roxas was a temperamental idiot even over the most insignificant things Axel did so... what on earth was he supposed to do about the whole situation now?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Merry Xmas/Happy NY guys!  
>Here's my belated gift to you all. ENJOY AND REVIEW or something :D<strong>


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